Dhaka: Over 15.33 lakh voters have registered to cast their votes through postal ballots, as announced by Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam. The registration process for postal voting concluded on Monday, and the figures include 761,140 domestic voters and 772,542 members of the Bangladeshi diaspora.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Alam highlighted that the domestic voters opted for postal ballots due to their election duty commitments, which will prevent them from voting at their designated polling stations. This marks the first time that members of the Bangladeshi diaspora will participate in the postal voting process. Alam emphasized the unprecedented response to this first-ever online postal ballot registration, which represents a significant move toward inclusive and participatory elections, particularly for expatriates.
Alam stated that Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus described the response as a historic event. While the global inclusion rate for diaspora voting averages 2.7 percent, Bangladesh has exceeded 5 percent in its inaugural year. The Election Commission’s postal voting model is under international observation, including scrutiny by the European Union, UNDP, and several European countries.
The Election Commission plans to dispatch and collect postal ballots starting January 21, following the confirmation of the final list of candidates. The Chief Adviser stressed that this initial experience is vital for future diaspora participation in elections. With an estimated 1.5 crore Bangladeshis living abroad, the long-term aim is to ensure voting access for all eligible expatriates.
Addressing government awareness initiatives, Alam mentioned the ‘Super Caravan’ campaign, which began on December 20 with 10 vehicles under the banner ‘Vote’r Gari’. Due to its overwhelming response, the vehicle count will rise from 10 to 30, expanding coverage from 300 to 495 upazilas, including remote island districts such as Bhola and Hatiya.
Newly added vehicles in the ‘Super Caravan’ will operate from January 9 to January 31, displaying 30 TV commercials on elections and the referendum. Alam noted that Election Commission preparations are progressing rapidly, with training completed for 75 percent of security personnel. The remaining preparations will be finalized soon.
The Ministry of Home Affairs is developing a mobile app for reporting election-related disruptions, with monitoring control rooms planned at various administrative levels. Alam indicated that Religious Affairs Adviser Dr. AFM Khalid Hossain informed the Chief Adviser about a recent meeting with 500 Islamic scholars to engage Imams in election campaigns. The initiative aims to encourage Imams to promote referendum awareness during Friday sermons.
The campaign also seeks to involve teachers from approximately 77,000 maktabs, 400,000 mosque Imams, and priests from other faiths. Informational leaflets will be distributed nationwide by the Religious Affairs Ministry.